In a third-quarter trading update (three months to 30 June) on Wednesday (10 August), the group said had it not been for the issues that blighted operations at MAN following the lifting of Covid restrictions in March, it would have posted underlying group Ebit (earnings before tax and interest) of €48 million.
However, the group attributed a €75 million impairment to the impact of additional flight disruption and irregularities, "particularly in British air traffic".
Tui said its spring programme experienced "roughly 200" flight cancellations, less than 1% of its entire programme, "mainly relating to departures from Manchester airport".
"Excluding these additional costs, underlying group Ebit would be €48 million euros, the first profitable quarter since the start of the pandemic," said Tui.
In April and May, the majority of Tui travellers (96%) reached their destination on time or with delays of less than three hours
Nonetheless, the group’s bosses remain confident Tui’s summer 2022 business will approach 2019 levels with people continuing to prioritise spending on holidays despite economic uncertainty and cost of living pressures.
Tui Group said on Wednesday (10 August) "booking momentum for summer 2022 remains encouraging" with 5.1 million guests already having travelled with the company during its third quarter (three months to 30 June) and another 11.5 million booked for the peak summer season.
Group-wide, bookings are at 90% of summer 2019 levels, rising to 93% of pre-Covid levels during July and August specifically. "Tui reiterates its expectation to almost reach the booking level of summer 2019 in summer 2022," said the group in a Q2 trading update.
Tui said two main trends were driving the recovery; reduced lead times on bookings and people spending more money on their trips, giving the group confidence of a surge in late bookings.
Average prices for summer 2022 are currently up 18% on where they were pre-Covid, while customers are booking more packages and "higher value services such as room upgrades and longer stays".
"People want to travel," said Tui Group chief financial officer and chief executive in-waiting Sebastian Ebel, who will take over from Fritz Joussen at the start of October. "Holidays continue to top the list of planned spending – this has not changed."
Ebel said the group was bouncing back from Covid despite pressures on its operations. "Although the entire European airline sector continues to face challenges, we have successfully ramped up our business with a significant increase in demand and achieved a good third quarter. Tui’s summer will be strong, with capacity almost at pre-crisis levels in 2019."
The group expects to return to "significantly positive" underlying Ebit (earnings before interest and tax) for its full-year (year to 30 September).
